The Confederation of African Football has awarded the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title to Morocco after the Senegal was ruled to have forfeited the final, in a decision that has sent shockwaves across African football.
In a ruling delivered by the CAF Appeal Board, Senegal was deemed to have forfeited the final of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 in accordance with Article 84 of the tournament regulations. As a result, the match has been officially recorded as a 3–0 victory in favour of Morocco, effectively handing the title to the host nation.
The decision overturns the expected outcome of the highly anticipated final and marks one of the most dramatic administrative conclusions in the history of the tournament. CAF stated that the ruling was reached after a review of circumstances surrounding the match, applying its disciplinary framework under the competition’s governing rules.
By invoking Article 84, which governs forfeiture in cases of regulatory breaches, the Appeal Board concluded that Senegal could not be deemed to have fulfilled the conditions required to contest the final, thereby awarding the match to Morocco without play or completion under standard conditions.
